14
Amelia
I stared.
Carter was standing opposite my desk, a look like thunder on his face. I shivered. Mark looked at him with an expression of disgust. I tensed. I didn’t want to cause trouble, and my office now had all this angry energy in it.
“Please,” I whispered. “I’ll just go.”
I didn’t know where I was going to go, or what I meant by that. All I knew was that I had to get out of this space right now.
Mark looked at me, as if he was about to argue, his face white and his eyes blazing. I took my coat off the hook and put it on.
“I should go,” I said to him, turning to the door. “I don’t want to stay here and…”
“No,” Carter said.
I stopped and turned around. Carter had spoken with raw authority, his voice firm. I felt confused, though I was also curious to hear what he would say next.
“No, don’t go,” he said, stunning me.
“What?” I whispered.
Carter looked at Mark, who stepped away from the desk, as if sensing that things were not going as badly as he thought. Then his blue stare returned to me.
“Amelia,” Carter said. His voice sounded tight, like he’d tasted lemon-juice. “You can stay. It’s not safe for you to be driving to and from work in the dark. Mark’s right. We need somebody up there. I’m just worried that—never mind. This probably is safer. No one will know you’re here.”
I felt my cheeks heat up. Carter, who hated me, was saying yes? He’d let me stay? I cleared my throat. I didn’t know how to understand his sudden about-turn, or what to say. There was relief but also a sense of unease running through my veins. In any case, there was only one word that came straight to mind.
“Thanks,” I said.
“Sure.”
Mark looked from Carter to me and back to Carter again. He shrugged.
“I’m going back to work,” he said, and walked out of the door, the silence loud in the wake of his footsteps. I felt my heart stop. This was the first time I’d been really alone with Carter since Friday night.
“I’m sorry,” Carter said awkwardly. “It’s fine if you stay. Mark can be a bit impulsive sometimes. I overreacted. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine,” I said in a small voice. I wasn’t sure what to say. On the one hand, I was hurt by his instant refusal. On the other hand, he was genuinely sorry. I never expected him to be able to admit he was wrong, not even about such a small thing as this.
“If you need any help moving in, let us know,” he added.
I stared at him, utterly confused. He was so swift to change his mind. I had thought he’d rather set the workshop on fire than rent to me, but now he seemed all too keen on me moving in. I paused. “Thanks,” I said carefully, “but I don’t own much. I can bring it over in one trip.”
He held my gaze. I felt like he was trying to say something. An apology, perhaps. I could see tenderness in his expression as I stiffened.
He shouldn’t feel sorry for me, I fumed.
I wasn’t about to let him pity me, when he hadn’t even talked about our kiss! If he cared, the least he could do was say sorry.
“Amelia, I’m sorry.”
I stared at him. If he’d shouted, I would have expected it. If he’d told me to leave, I would have been mad at him, but I would have gone. But today he was full of surprises.
“It’s fine,” I said again.
“No,” Carter said as I shouldered past, “it isn’t. And, before you go, I have to ask you something.”
“Yeah?” I frowned at him.
“Did you see the creep again? That one…”
“Luke Lowry? No.” I interrupted. I felt foolish. It was awkward that he knew about it, to say the least. He could have some compassion and not bring it up. I had told him because I’d been in a weakened state, not because I wanted everybody to know about it.
“Oh. Sorry,” he said again.
I gave him an odd look as I went past.
“You’re not leaving?” he asked.
“No?” I said. “I’m going out for lunch.”
I had worked through lunch, and I was hungry. I was going to get something from the store. I had forwarded calls to my cell phone, so it wasn’t like I was leaving. I also needed to get some fresh air. So, I left the office and began walking to the store.
“Carter Brand, you’re confusing.” I said it aloud to a lamppost in the parking lot.
I had never met anybody in my life as confusing as him. Carter was sending out more signals than the creator of Morse code, but his were full of contradictions. On the one hand, he was clearly showing interest in me. On the other hand, he ignored me, marginalized me, and acted like he thought I was barely fit to be a receptionist at his company. Then, out of the blue, he acts like he cares.
“I have no idea what’s up with him.”
I bought bread rolls, cheese, and an apple and went back to my office. I worked through the afternoon. There was something strangely absorbing about updating ledgers and focusing on the numbers in the columns. It helped me to relax. Four hours passed like it was nothing. I stood, a little stiff and cramped, at seven and packed up the desk.
“It’s time I went home.”
“Have you added more jobs to the schedule for tomorrow?” Matthew asked from the doorway. He was dressed in his regular clothes. The guys were leaving too.
“No,” I shot back. “It’s still just two jobs. Bye?”
“Yeah, bye.” Matthew nodded. “We’re all leaving. Carter’s still here… said he’d lock up.” He jerked his head in the direction of the office next door.
“Sounds good. Bye,” I said.
I buttoned up my coat, frowning as Matthew went out.
I thought I overheard Carter tell the team he was going to leave early while I was fetching paper for the printer from the storeroom earlier. What had made him decide to stay on later?
“I don’t understand him,” I muttered.
Getting into my car, I turned on the windshield wipers, wiping the raindrops and dirt that had dried on the surface. I stared out into the darkening night.
“I’d better buy dinner.”
I drove back, wondering what I was going to tell Tanya. The keys Mark had given me were in my bag.
I could move out tomorrow, if I had to.
“Tanya!” I called, striding into the kitchen. “I have good news. Oh. Hi.” I grinned as Tanya and Tex both looked up at me from the table.
Tex stood up and shook my hand. Tanya just looked at us. I felt uneasy.
“What’s up…” I started to ask, going to the sink to fetch myself a glass of water. I didn’t know why, but something about the fact that they’d fallen silent when I came in was uncomfortable.
“Tell her, sweetie,” Tanya offered.
Tex straightened his spine. He was tall, and he looked uncomfortable in our small, cramped apartment. Now, he looked dreadfully uncomfortable. I felt my heart thump nervously as he cleared his throat.
“It was Carter’s idea,” he started. “He told me to keep an eye out for you.”